Skydio R1

Last updated
Skydio R1
Skydio R1
General information
Type Camera drone
National originUnited States
Manufacturer Skydio
History
Manufactured2018–c. 2019
Introduction dateFebruary 2018

The Skydio R1 is an American teleoperated quadcopter drone produced by Skydio. Introduced in 2018, the R1 was produced in limited numbers as a proof of concept for the company's later drones.

Contents

Design and development

Announced in February 2018, the R1 was the first drone released by Skydio. [1] The drone is capable of flying autonomously using only its 12 navigation cameras. [2] [3] The R1 also has a gimbal-stabilized 4K main camera and can be controlled with a mobile app rather than a controller. [4] The drone's structure is made of carbon-fiber and aluminum, allowing it be stowed in a backpack without being damage. [5] The drone has a maximum flight time of 16 minutes, which The Verge noted was lower than contemporary DJI drones. [4] The R1 is powered by a 256-core NVIDIA Jetson TX1, which is mounted in the middle of the drone and allows it to recognize humans and other objects. [6] [7] [8] The drone was initially released in a limited "Frontier Edition", which were built at Skydio's corporate headquarters before mass production began. [9] [10]

While the R1 was praised for its autonomous capabilities, the drone was significantly more expensive than the competing DJI Mavic Pro. [8] Engadget noted that the R1 was almost as expensive as the high-end DJI Inspire 2. [11] The R1 was still listed on Skydio's website as late as July 2019. [12] After the launch of the R1's successor, the Skydio 2, Skydio co-founder Adam Bry referred to the R1 as "the Tesla Roadster of autonomous drones", comparing the drone to the car produced in limited numbers by Tesla Motors as a proof of concept for its future vehicles. [13]

Specifications (Skydio R1)

Data from [7] [14]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. ↑ Kesteloo, Haye (2018-02-13). "Skydio launches R1 - an autonomous flying drone that takes obstacle avoidance to new heights". DroneDJ. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  2. ↑ Manjoo, Farhad (2018-02-13). "The Autonomous Selfie Drone Is Here. Is Society Ready for It?". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  3. ↑ Hollister, Sean (2019-10-01). "Skydio 2: the self-flying future of drones starts at $999". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  4. 1 2 Statt, Nick (2018-04-05). "The Skydio R1 autonomous drone is an action sport enthusiast's dream come true". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  5. ↑ Sandler, Rachel; Villas-Boas, Antonio. "This $2,500 'self-flying camera' can follow you around and snap photos without anyone controlling it — here's how it works". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  6. ↑ kangalow (2018-02-14). "Skydio R1 - Jetson TX1 Based Self-Flying Camera". JetsonHacks. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  7. 1 2 Han, Jakub (2018-04-27). "Skydio R1 - Impressive Fully Autonomous 4K Drone". CineD. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  8. 1 2 Michelle Fitzsimmons (2018-02-13). "Skydio R1 is an autonomous drone that will film all your awesome adventures". TechRadar. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  9. ↑ "Skydio Announces R1, Delivering on the Promise of the Self-Flying Camera". sUAS News. 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  10. ↑ "Skydio Demonstrates Incredible Obstacle-Dodging Full Autonomy With New R1 Consumer Drone - IEEE Spectrum". spectrum.ieee.org. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  11. ↑ "Skydio's R1 drone can autonomously follow your car, too". Engadget. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  12. ↑ "Skydio — Product". Skydio. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  13. ↑ Hollister, Sean (2019-10-01). "Skydio 2: the self-flying future of drones starts at $999". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  14. ↑ Murison, Malek (2018-02-13). "Skydio R1: America's Belated Response to DJI's Dominance". DRONELIFE. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
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